We had a pretty darned lazy day Thursday. We did our resistance exercises, had breakfast, got the place cleaned up...then I worked on the blog while Steve read a magazine and checked out a few blogs he follows.

After lunch we decided to go out for a walk. We did the same trail we did yesterday, only today we went in the opposite direction. Yup, I'd say that washed out trail could definitely use some TLC...

There's our rig up there...

Once back, we relaxed outside in our chairs...I also started a new book. We sat out there until the wind started and it became unpleasant...then we retreated inside.As the sun started going down, Steve snapped a couple of pictures trying to catch the stunning shapes and colors in the rocks...

And the wind continued to build and build. By the evening it was howling pretty good, shaking the trailer. At about 8:00 Steve went outside to fire up the generator and came back in fuming mad...the wind had knocked over the satellite dish breaking the LNB from the arm. We hadn't noticed because we had been watching a PVR'd show, catching up for the episode airing tonight. After watching a couple of more PVR'd shows, we headed to bed just before 11:00.

Well, we hadn't been in bed more than 10 minutes listening to the wind and feeling it rock the trailer when Steve said we should probably put in the slides...all except the bedroom. So we got up, and cleared the furniture and put them in. A really good move because although we have been in a lot of wind storms, I think this was the worst. Steve was up again at 3 a.m., with all the strange noises going on around the trailer from the wind he wanted to go outside to do an inspection. Luckily everything looked okay,Needless to say, we did not have a very restful night!

Friday morning it was after 7:30 by the time we crawled out of bed, put out the slides and got the coffee on. It was still windy out. Our original plan had been to hit the road again today but after checking out the weather forecast on our route further south, we found there was a wind warning, 21-35 mph gusting to 49 mph with blowing sand and dust (thanks for the heads-up Charlene), so we decided to just stay here for one more day....which is just fine. It's a nice sunny day, a bit breezy...and Steve has a few chores to take care of after last night's wind storm.He started by fixing the LNB...hopefully, the silicone sealant will work. He had just finished getting the LNB back together when a fellow came into our site. Rush introduced himself...he is a member of RVillage as well as RV Happy Hour and has corresponded with Steve a number of times. We chatted for a bit and before he left, Steve invited he and his wife, Lola, over to join us for happy hour.

Next it was repair the topper on the bedroom slide. The fabric is starting wear...and rip, especially with the wind...

Time to bring out the awning repair kit for another temporary fix...

We replaced our largest topper ourselves a couple of years ago and it looks like it's time to order replacements for the other three slides from Tough Top Awnings ...

After that was done, he emptied a couple of 5 gallon containers of fresh water into the trailer and finally, it was time for him to relax. After I had cleaned up inside and puttered around doing odds and ends, I read my book.

With a nice sunny day, Steve was watching as the sun got lower in the sky...he wanted to get more pictures...

A picture of the two of us as we wait for Rush and Lola to come over...

...and a picture of all four of us...Steve, me, Lola and Rush...

We had a nice visit with Lola and Rush...they just retired last June and are from North Carolina. Although they don't plan on being full time RV'ers, they do plan on traveling extensively in their 30' Cougar fifth-wheel. We chatted with them for about an hour and a half until it was getting dark and cool...it was also time to get dinner going. So after hugs and handshakes, we said our "see ya's" and they headed off and we went inside. It was great meeting you both!

We have enjoyed our stay here...but it's time to hit the road again tomorrow!

I was awake a lot through the night...the wind was just a howlin'...but seems Steve slept right through it! We both had a very productive morning. The first thing I did was download pictures and scan the bill from RVZZ for the repair we had done yesterday. Steve wanted to get an email written and send it off to Traveland RV. He's had no luck so far with the emails and phone calls to Traveland...we're not getting a warm fuzzy feeling about this situation!

Once that was done, he called Midway Chevrolet in Phoenix while I did some baking. Midway is where we have taken the truck for the "squealing" issue while in the States. We received an email back from Isuzu saying that the issue has been handed over to the U.S. rep and he will be in touch with Midway to arrange to have our truck diagnosed. We hadn't heard from Midway yet, so Steve thought he'd give Brian (the service fellow that we deal with) a call. It works out well...we will drop the truck off on December 2 before we leave for Cabo San Lucas. That will give them 2 weeks to work on the truck. It also gives us a spot to leave Buster worry free...a much better option than leaving it in a hotel parking lot.

With all that done, Steve decided to head out for a walk around the campground while I took over the laptop and did some much needed banking...darned bills still need to be paid no matter where you are! Steve must have been gone for almost an hour but I hadn't really noticed...being so engrossed in what I was doing. He ended up doing much more than just a walk around the campground...going down to the day-use area where there were a bunch of people with easels set up painting the beautiful mountains. He ended up finding the trail that came back here to the campground. But he forgot to take the camera!

It was after 1:30 when Steve decided to grill up hot dogs on the barbecue for lunch...a rare treat! We don't have them often but I sure love them! We sat outside and ate at the picnic table. It was a mostly cloudy day but it was very warm out... 26C/78F.

With the forecast for the chance of rain tomorrow, Steve wanted to get out for another walk...and take his camera this time! The trail heads down towards the river valley from just beside our site and goes around to the day-use area. The Virgin River is down there but hard to see in some of these photos...

The Virgin River down there...

That's the day-use area in the distance with the I-15 behind it...

The trail was in major need of maintenance in a lot of spots...

Beautiful Joshua Tree...

You don't ever want to get stuck by one of these or rub a branch up against your rig like we almost did in Joshua National Park...

See all the artists set up over there in the day-use area...

A couple of very talented artists happy to pose for a photo!

Walking up the day-use road...

...to the main road and another trail...a paved one this time...

...that leads up to a viewpoint with some interpretive signs...

We walked passed this critter on the path...Steve thinks it may be a baby tarantula...

About 45 minutes later, we were back at our campsite...time to relax. Oops...not quite yet for Steve...he needed to restring the chair that broke yesterday first...

I decided to bring out my crocheting...

And that was pretty much our day. We have decided to stay one more day...and leave Friday to continue our journey south. This is a awesome spot to just chill after a hectic of a couple weeks of travelling and hiking.

I was up bright and early this morning...yup...5:30! A neighbour starting up his truck woke me up and since it was travel day for us, I wanted to make sure I had time for my usual coffee start to the day.

For those of us that prefer to boondock (Ray and Deb), Steve stumbled across this site by accident too late in our trip to explore Zion BLM Camping.

We pulled out of Zion River Resort at 8:55...ten minutes later than we had planned but our ETA at RVZZ was 9:32 which would make us 'almost' on time for our 9:30 appointment. It was a beautiful day as we headed back to I-15 south...

We had no problem finding RVZZ in Washington, Utah. Even though they were booked two weeks in advance, when Steve called last week and told them that we were referred by Zion River Resort (large ad in their pamphlet), they agreed to look after us right away.

Steve supervising the poor tech Troy at the sani dump. He's trying to figure out why our recently replaced and modified grey water gate valve wasn't allowing water to drain. Unpleasant as this job was for Troy laying on his back in the sani dump, we're sure he's glad it wasn't the black tank that he had to drain :-)Okay so the new gate valve was removed and found to be working. The tech asked if we were sure we had anything in the tank. Steve told him that there should be about 6 days of dishwater in there. He then inquired about all the spray foam that he could see sticking out from the underbelly. Steve told him that's where they cut into the underbelly to get access to the old gate valve. You see, the original gate valve was the cable style and they didn't have stock, so they cut into the exposed pipe hanging in front of the tire and installed the lever style gate valve instead. Don't know why the factory didn't do the same as it's much more preferable, especially for servicing.
So Troy climbed under there...

...removed the spray foam, then the pipe to drain the tank...lots of stinky water now!

He found that the tech at Traveland RV in Fort Langley applied too much silicone sealant. This picture was taken after the tech had already stuck his finger in it. The silicone had almost created a diaphragm with a 3/4" hole instead of the 1 1/2". This allowed debris to build up until the hole became blocked. Now we are waiting to hear back from Traveland RV about our $453 U.S. bill that will probably come to around $580 Canadian with the current exchange rate! We sure hope Traveland stands behind their work and reimburses us for this expense,

Well, it's a good thing that we were't planning on a long travel day today...it was almost 1:00 when we were back on the road headed south. We crossed the border into Arizona and before long...

...we were entering the Virgin River Canyon...

The Virgin River...

Our turnoff to the campground...

There were a number of RV's in the campground but we lucked out, getting one of the best pull-out sites overlooking the canyon....sweet! It's a short paved road just off the highway and quite peaceful.
Camping is $8.00 per night and Day Use is $2.00. Water is available but no sani dump.

View from our rig...

Steve missed a great shot of this military helicopter flying low and banking through the canyon right in front of us because the camera wouldn't focus...sheesh! Well, at least he got this shot...

After we were all set up, we lazed outside taking in the beauty that was in front of us..and maybe shutting our eyes for a bit of a snooze. Before it was bevie time, we decided to go for a walk around the campground. Steve took a few pictures... a pull through site...

That's our rig down there in the distance...the longest one...

There's a hiking trail that starts next to our site that we'll have to check out...

Washrooms...

Again, from our site...

The colors in the rock is stunning...

After dinner, we watched our usual Tuesday night programs on TV...for some reason, though, I was having a hard time staying awake. Oh right, we gained an hour when we crossed into Arizona...that means that I was actually up at 4:30 this morning...no wonder I couldn't keep my eyes open by 9:00!

Banff

About Us

We married in 1982 and our sons, Rob and Chris were born in 1983 and 1985. In 1990 we built our dream home in North Saanich just north of Victoria BC on 1.21 acres. We both had long careers, Dianne in Human Resources and Steve as Branch Manager for a controls systems wholesaler.
Steve always felt that there were no guarantees in life as far as health and mortality went, so we planned to retire early and RV full-time.
In late 2009 we began the build process on our custom Toy Hauler truck, taking delivery in early 2010. We moved into our new Montana 5th wheel in Feb 2010, living in it for 4 months while still working. In May 2010 we purchased 2 Yamaha Grizzly 550 ATVs. We're ready!
Just shy of our 55th birthdays, on June 25, 2010 we retired and started our life as gypsies.
We prefer dry camping (boondocking), getting as far away from civilization as possible. However, our size limits us from getting into all of those remote areas. Good thing we have the ATVs to explore with.